"
The Kids Are Alright" is a song written by
Pete TownshendPeter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
of
The WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They became known for energetic live performances including the pioneering spectacle of instrument destruction...
. It appears as the seventh track on the group's first album,
My GenerationMy Generation is the debut album by the English rock band The Who, released by Brunswick in the United Kingdom in December 1965. It was released in the United States by Decca in April 1966 as The Who Sings My Generation with a different cover and a slightly different track listing.The album was...
(1965). While not a huge hit at the time (reaching #41 in the UK and #85 in the US), the song, along with the album's
title track"My Generation" is a song by the British rock group The Who, which became a hit and one of their most recognizable songs. It has entered the rock and roll pantheon as one of the most celebrated, cited, and referenced songs in the idiom; it was named the 11th greatest song by Rolling Stone on their...
, would become anthems for the group and the Mod movement of England in the 1960s. It would later become the name of
the documentary for the bandThe Kids Are Alright is a rockumentary film about the English rock band The Who, including live performances, promotional films and interviews from 1964 to 1978.-Production:...
in 1979. The song features a standard I-IV-V
chord progressionA chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord...
in the key of D while the chorus uses a II-V-IV-I-II chord progression.
"
The Kids Are Alright" is a song written by
Pete TownshendPeter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
of
The WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They became known for energetic live performances including the pioneering spectacle of instrument destruction...
. It appears as the seventh track on the group's first album,
My GenerationMy Generation is the debut album by the English rock band The Who, released by Brunswick in the United Kingdom in December 1965. It was released in the United States by Decca in April 1966 as The Who Sings My Generation with a different cover and a slightly different track listing.The album was...
(1965). While not a huge hit at the time (reaching #41 in the UK and #85 in the US), the song, along with the album's
title track"My Generation" is a song by the British rock group The Who, which became a hit and one of their most recognizable songs. It has entered the rock and roll pantheon as one of the most celebrated, cited, and referenced songs in the idiom; it was named the 11th greatest song by Rolling Stone on their...
, would become anthems for the group and the Mod movement of England in the 1960s. It would later become the name of
the documentary for the bandThe Kids Are Alright is a rockumentary film about the English rock band The Who, including live performances, promotional films and interviews from 1964 to 1978.-Production:...
in 1979. The song features a standard I-IV-V
chord progressionA chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord...
in the key of D while the chorus uses a II-V-IV-I-II chord progression. It has been said that Townshend heard a
Henry PurcellHenry Purcell , was an English Baroque composer. Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements but devised a peculiarly English style of Baroque music.-Early life and career:...
piece on the piano, prompting him to re-work the melody and harmony for the chorus of the song. The American edit of the song features a substantially shortened instrumental break. In addition to appearing on
My Generation, the beginning of the song can be heard on
QuadropheniaQuadrophenia is the sixth studio album by the English rock band The Who. Released on 19 October 1973, by Track, Polydor in the United Kingdom and Track and MCA in the United States, Quadrophenia is a double album, and the group's second rock opera...
, after the song "Helpless Dancer" has faded out.
The song has been covered by bands such as
The QueersThe Queers are an American pop punk band formed in 1982 by Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joe King . Supposedly, the name 'Queers' was used simply to poke fun at what he called the "Art Fag" community in New Hampshire. The band originally broke up in 1984, but reformed with Joe Queer and a new...
,
GoldfingerGoldfinger is a Los Angeles pop punk/ska punk band that formed in 1994. They support the imprisoned 'SHAC 7' animal rights activists, and John Feldmann, lead singer, is an advocate for and supporter of the Animal Liberation Front.-History:...
, Eddie and the Hot Rods, The Pleasers,
Dropkick MurphysDropkick Murphys are an Irish-American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts, USA. First playing together in the basement of a friend's barbershop, they blended traditional folk rock and punk rock known as Celtic punk...
,
Hi-StandardHi-Standard were a Japanese punk rock/pop punk band who formed in 1991. The release Making the Road sparked sold-out Japan shows and US/European tours with punk bands such as NOFX, No Use for a Name and WIZO. Although Hi-Standard were Japanese born, all of their major releases were sung in English...
,
Green DayGreen Day is an American rock trio formed in 1987. The band has consisted of Billie Joe Armstrong , Mike Dirnt , and Tré Cool for the majority of its existence....
and
Pearl JamPearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
and
Belle & SebastianBelle & Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow, Scotland in January 1996. They are one of the best-known Scottish bands and are one of the most celebrated groups of the 1990s. Belle & Sebastian are often compared to influential indie bands such as The Smiths, as well as classic acts such...
who closed their set with it at the
Bowlie WeekenderThe Bowlie Weekender was a one-off music festival curated by Belle & Sebastian at the Pontin's Holiday camp in Camber Sands, Sussex between Friday 23rd and Sunday 25th of April 1999....
in 1999. In 2008
Billy Bob ThorntonBilly Bob Thornton is an American actor, director, musician, playwright and screenwriter. His rise to fame began in the mid-1990s, after writing, directing, and starring in the film Sling Blade, for which he won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.-Early life:Thornton was born in Hot Springs,...
s band
The BoxmastersThe Boxmasters are an American country rock/rockabilly band founded in Bellflower, California in 2007. It features actor Billy Bob Thornton on drums and vocals with J.D. Andrew on bass, guitars, and vocals as well as Michael Wayne Butler on guitars and lap steel...
recorded a version of the song as the closing number on the second disc of their album
The Boxmasters. The song was also recorded for a covers album by
Matthew SweetSidney Matthew Sweet is an American alternative rock/power pop musician. He was part of the burgeoning Athens, Georgia music scene in the early and mid-1980s before gaining commercial success during the early 1990s...
and Bangles' vocalist
Susanna HoffsSusanna Lee Hoffs is an American vocalist, guitarist and actress. She is best known as a member of the all-female pop band The Bangles.-Early life:...
.
Keith MoonKeith John Moon was an English drummer of the rock group The Who. He gained notoriety for exuberant drumming and his destructive lifestyle that earned him the nickname, "Moon the Loon." Moon joined The Who in 1964...
also did a cover of this song for his first, and only, solo album,
Two Sides of the MoonTwo Sides Of the Moon is the only solo album from the primary drummer from The Who, Keith Moon. Surprisingly, rather than using the album as a chance to showcase his legendary drumming skill, Moon chose to sing on all the songs. He only drums on "Crazy Like A Fox", "The Kids Are Alright" and "Move...
.
In present-day live performances, The Who add a lengthy extra section to the end of "The Kids Are Alright", featuring partly improvised lyrics. After
John EntwistleJohn Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, and horn player, who was best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band The Who...
's death, the extra lyrics would occasionally make reference to him, and his love of old red wine, which would later inspire their song "Old Red Wine", a tribute to Entwistle.
This song is referenced in the title of the song "
The Kids Aren't Alright"The Kids Aren't Alright" is a punk rock song by The Offspring. It is the fifth track from the band's fifth studio album Americana and was released as the third single from this album....
" by
the OffspringThe Offspring is an American rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California in 1984. Since its formation, the band's line-up had included Dexter Holland , Noodles , Greg K. , and Ron Welty , who left in 2003...
.
External links